The Game (17 page)

Parker shook his head. “Impossible.”

Candice assured him, “No, not impossible. Think about it. He had all the papers. Would anyone think to call Iron Stone and see if he suddenly came out of a comatose state? He asked you to keep it quiet for a reason, because someone at the hospital would have put it together. And then, what did he do? He bought the hospital — the last stone that could cast doubt on his story.”

Parker’s face scrunched. “He said he wanted to buy the place because it was smart business.”

“It was, smart for
his
business.”

Parker looked at Lukas. “We’re going to the police, right now.”

Chapter 37

L
ukas pushed his ink-covered thumb onto the page. There was some trepidation, because what if he was wrong? He knew in his soul, he was Lukas Raven. But with all the impossibility he had seen, he wondered if perhaps knowing wasn’t enough. If pictures and memories were manipulated for his benefit, perhaps that worm could turn the other way, too.

He didn’t know how it worked. Why he’d suddenly woken up. The magical forces that caused him to jump from body-to-body, they were strange, and he could only guess as to their origin and meaning. But he knew, sure as the sun would set, that he had finally become who he was supposed to be.

Detective Blake Pillar nodded. “That’s quite the story. I don’t see a lot of amnesia stories.”

Lukas shrugged. “I wish I didn’t have one.”

Candice sipped coffee from a small paper cup. “How did this happen? I mean, how did Angus fool everyone?”

Pillar shrugged.

Parker offered, “No one had seen you in over ten years, and last time they did, you were a fourteen year old kid. When a man walks into an office with all the paper identification, no one thinks to check his fingerprints. I’m still skeptical. Quite frankly, I’ll wait to see if your prints match the ones on file.”

A thin black woman in a blue windbreaker walked into the room. She tossed a piece of paper on the table. “We got an immediate match. He’s Lukas Raven.”

Lukas felt a shudder of relief jolt his body. He almost felt like laughing and them running around screaming with his hands in the air. He wanted to believe it but it still felt so far away. Now he could touch it, live it.

Candice hugged him. “Congratulations, you’re a real person again, officially.”

Parker walked up to Lukas, holding out a hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t believe you.”

Lukas shook his hand. “Thank you. I would’ve expected nothing less.”

Detective Pillar stood. “Mr. Raven, do you have any idea what happened since you were removed from Iron Stone?”

Lukas shrugged. “I wish I did. But the fact that I was Lukas Raven only came back to me yesterday.”

Pillar said, “And you two are sure that the man who stole your identity is the same man that killed your family? The same man who orchestrated the twisted game over at Iron Stone? You’d testify to that?”

Lukas nodded. “I would.”

Candice said, “We would. And after seeing a picture of Angus Archibald, I know it was him. Call Detective Webb at the state police in Springfield. He’ll fill you in on some things.”

The detective nodded. “This Angus seems to have ruined a lot of lives.”

Parker urged, Pillar, “You have to put a freeze on all the accounts linked to Lukas Raven, RFM Investments, and TRK Consulting.”

Pillar nodded. “Right away, and I’m putting out an APB on Angus Archibald.”

“Don’t forget Rena.”

Pillar pointed to a dry-erase board in the far corner of the squad room. “They lifted prints from Iron Stone that belonged to a Rena Lang. She’s got a rap sheet for fraud, assault, and theft. We’re looking for her, too.”

Parker looked at Lukas. “You’re going to need a lawyer.”

Lukas lifted his chin. “You’re hired.”

They’d made their way back to Parker’s office to go over a few things. Lukas was feeling overwhelmed at first, but Candice set him at ease. As they waited for the lawyer to return, she kissed him softly.

“Can you believe all this?” Lukas asked.

“It’s all bizarre enough.”

“I mean, what are the chances that the Universe would thrust me into this and answer all these questions with one swoop?”

“I can’t believe this lawyer just happened to be
the
lawyer. Of all of the law offices Angus could’ve walked into, why did he choose this one?”

Lukas shook his head. “I wish I could explain that. Or any of this. Maybe in the end, the Universe just saw it fitting.”

“Is that who you attribute all this to? The Universe?”

“I don’t know.”

“I mean, why not Jesus? Why not Buddha? Why not Allah?”

Lukas thought about it. He didn’t really have any answer. “I don’t know.”

“Well, maybe you should think about that, too. Maybe in one of them you’ll find an answer.”

Lukas looked at her thoughtfully. “You have a complicated relationship with religion.”

Candice nodded slowly. “I’m conflicted. I believe in God. Don’t you?”

Lukas pursed his lips. “I do, but I never really thought He might be the reason for any of this. God is a complex concept. On the one hand, we want Him to explain everything. On the other hand, we want to think we carve our own destiny. We thank God for the good and blame God for the bad. We want it both ways. But in the end, God might indeed be the reason for some things.”

She smiled. “He
might
be the reason for everything.”

“Maybe.”

“My father ran to God to help him get over my brother’s death. My mother ran
from
God in anger. So if you wonder why I’m conflicted, you needn’t look any further.”

“The great thing about God is that He, or She, or Them…they don’t discriminate…only religion does that. So, you can feel and believe whatever you want, to whatever degree you need. I’m not going to judge you.”

Parker entered the room and went over to the large white cabinet. “Sorry to keep you waiting.” He opened the cabinet and fished out a file. He dropped it on the desk and flipped it open. “First thing we need to do is open a secondary account for you, to draw off the trust right away, one that only you know about. We can use an incorporated name, just as Angus did. Eventually, we can get the entire estate under your control. It’s all in your name anyway, it’s just been the wrong man laying claim to it.”

Candice smiled with uncertainty. “What’s in this estate?”

Parker slid on a small pair of reading glasses. “Well, there’s the house up in Hackettstown, a modest four bedroom on eight acres. Estimated value on that is $485,000 because it’s in such disrepair. Then there is the vacation home in upstate New York, just outside of Ithaca in Cayuga Heights. That’s a three bedroom country cabin on a ten acre plot, estimated value on that is $535,000. Then there’s the beachfront home on Sanibel Island, Florida, a three-bedroom modern architecture style home, estimated at $1,850,000. Now mind you, these estimated values are from back when I took over the estate, so they’re a few years old.” He shifted to the next page.

Candice looked to Lukas. “How freaking rich were your parents?”

Parker pointed to the sheet. “Oh, there’s much, much more. In addition to those three homes, there’s also quite a bit of stock investments and cash. All told when your parents died, their estimated value was somewhere in the neighborhood of $187-million.”

Lukas felt like this was a dream. He nearly fell off his chair. “Whoa…”

Candice gasped. “That’s ridiculous.”

Parker continued. “Of course, Angus has blown through about twenty-eight million in cash assets. He also converted about fifteen million in stocks. He has however, purchased the Iron Stone Mountain facility, as you know, which has an estimated value of $11.5 million in the land and facility. That may have to go back to the state however, as evidence in the commission of a felony.”

Lukas pushed his hands through his hair. “This is unbelievable.”

Parker slid a piece of paper in front of Lukas with a pen. “The best I can do now is get about three hundred thousand in liquid cash for you to live on until the mess is sorted out. The police are likely going to get the FBI involved in this, and they have a half-million cap on living expenses while they sort it out. If this drags on beyond a year, you can petition the court for more liquid assets. Of course, we can always sell something.”

Lukas interrupted. “I’m sure that’s fine.”

“Of course you can live in any one of the houses. They’re all in your name. You’re parents were very smart people, they made wise investments, they weren’t frivolous. Judging by their portfolio, they could’ve afforded much more than they had.”

Candice finished scanning the paper Lukas was supposed to sign. “This is just a standard contract, saying you’ll pay the law firm a standard fee for their services.”

Lukas didn’t even care to read the paper. He was too overwhelmed, this was all too impossible to believe. He trusted Candice to guide him to do the right thing, because right now, he couldn’t get anything straight in his head. He had been so many people, pretended to be so many things he never was, that he had no idea how to be himself.

He stood up. “I need to get some air.” He left the office and walked out into the cold of the night. The plume of his breath was welcome, because it was certain. With each exhale, it would be there, consistent. It was a part of him.

He sat on the bus station bench.

Candice came outside, crossed her arms, and shivered. “Are you okay?” She sat next to him. “Are you going somewhere?”

He shook his head no, then looked up into the darkness of the night. The streetlamps masked the stars, if there were any.

“I know this is a lot all at once, Lukas. But we’ll figure it all out.”

He shrugged. “I know…it’s just…”

“What? You know you can tell me anything. I don’t have to reiterate that, do I?”

He smiled. “No, you don’t.”

“Okay, so what’s going on inside that head of yours?”

“I don’t know who I am.”

“Yes, Lukas Raven, you do know who you are.”

“I know my name, but a name is not who you are. Who you are is what you’ve been. And I’ve never been…me.”

“You’re wrong. You’ve been you all along. You’ve just been you with a different name.”

“But I don’t know how to be anything other than what I was. Pretending to be other people is all I’ve known. It’s like I can remember my life, up until I was about fourteen, anyway, but it doesn’t seem real. It feels just like all the other lives I’ve led are, like it’s fake. When I was in high school, living as a boy named Michael Dreger, I had another boy come up to me and start a fight. I had no idea why this other boy was so mad. As it turned out, Michael stole his girlfriend. It turned out this Michael was a real jerk. He was a bully and a user. I really struggled to understand why I would become such a horrible person but then about a month into it, I realized. I had to try and change this kid’s reputation. Slowly and surely I did, just being me. Then a year later, I woke up in another kid’s body, different school and everything. I looked up Michael Dreger and learned he died in a freak accident, hit by a car. But I watched the news reports and everyone hailed this kid as the greatest kid. No one remembered what a jerk he was before I got his life. It proves I started out with good intentions, but then by the time I was out of school, it became all about me. I wasn’t helping anyone but me. I’ve been a selfish bastard.”

“That’s not true. That’s only your interpretation. You didn’t ruin Craig Easton. You took a suicide victim and gave him a hero’s burial. You didn’t ruin Vince Markoe, not in the eyes of those who remember him. I’m sure that if we go back one-by-one and look at all those you’ve been you didn’t ruin anyone.”

Lukas shrugged. “Maybe. I just don’t know what to make of my life. I just don’t see a central theme. I don’t know what it was all for, what it was supposed to culminate with.”

“Life is what you make it. You said you’ve wasted all those opportunities, all those chances to live a life. Well, there was a reason you never stayed as any of those people. It was because you were meant all along to come back. You can’t blame yourself for anything, Lukas. You did the best you could while being thrown into a completely unimaginable world. This is your chance to be what you always wanted to be.”

“But, what is that?”

“It’s whatever you want. You’ve just been given the opportunity to have an amazing life. You’re rich beyond most people’s wildest dreams. This is nothing to be depressed about. There’s nothing to be guilty for. You’ve been given the gift of life — take it. Run with it. Become what you want to be and you’ll learn who you are. You’re still young and you have a lot of life in front of you.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “So, what you’re saying is I should take my money and go find some hot young babe to spend it with?”

Candice pursed her lips, turned a half smile. “Sure, if that’s what you want. Go to Florida, live on the beach away from the snow, find yourself a hot babe who looks drop-dead in a bikini, and enjoy life for once.”

Lukas bit his lip and nodded. “I think that sounds pretty good. You wouldn’t happen to know any hot babes that look great in a bikini, would you? Wait a second. What about your friend, Zyanna? She’s sexy, I bet she looks great in a thong.”

Candice rolled her eyes. “Zee, no. You could do better.”

“Really? I don’t know — she’s really hot.”

“She is hot…but…” She stood and stepped back, held her arms up and spun around. “I’d like to apply for the position, if you’re taking applications.”

“Hmmm…” He touched his finger to his lips in mocking thought. “You? I don’t know, let me take a look at you again. Twirl one more time.” He nodded in approval. “Okay, I think you might do. Are you a good kisser?”

“Why don’t you judge for yourself?”

She leaned into him and they kissed. It was exactly what Lukas needed. It made him feel like something, it made him feel real, and whole.